Nail care apparatus

ABSTRACT

A nail care apparatus including a hand-or-foot of a person with nails having been applied with nail caring substances, nail curing means for curing nails of said person, a first air-moving means, and a first odor-removing means, wherein said first-air-moving means being adapted for moving air from said hand-or-foot receptacle to said first odor-removing means, said first odor-removing means including means for substantially removing smells, odors or other volatile substances emanated from said applied nail caring substances.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to personal care means, devices and apparatuses.More particularly, this invention relates to means, devices andapparatus for manicure and/or pedicure. More specifically, although ofcourse not solely limited thereto, this invention relates to nail careapparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, it has been noted that people are paying increasingattention to the beauty and care of their nails. As a result, manicureand pedicure products and services are becoming more and more visible inthe personal care and beauty business or industries. To decorate fingeror toe nails, many pedicure or manicure products such as nail polish,nail varnish, nail colours or nail gels are readily available.

Many nail care substances are in liquid, fluid or gel form which are tobe applied in layers to achieve optimal results. Usually, optimalresults can only be obtained if subsequent layers are applied after theprevious layers have been thoroughly dried. As a result, a completemanicure or pedicure process can take a considerably long time. Mostknown fluid based nail care substances contain volatile solvents whichhave strong scent or odours and may be adverse to health if subject toprolonged exposure.

Therefore, it is highly desirable if there can be provided means,devices or apparatus which alleviate the above problems or potentialhazards as well as shortening the time for optimal manicure or pedicure.While apparatus for drying decorated finger nails are known, theirfunctions are limited to drying and do not provide sufficient utility orsufficiently alleviate the aforesaid problems. Furthermore, in usingsuch drying apparatus, a user has to transfer his/her hand or foot froma support surface on which the nail caring substances were applied tothe drying apparatus. This can be a nuisance if several layers of nailcaring substances are to be applied. Accordingly, it would be highlydesirable if improved means, devices or apparatus for nail care can beprovided.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provideimproved nail care means, devices or apparatus. More specifically,although of course not limited thereto, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide nail caring apparatus which alleviates at leastsome of the problems associated with conventional nail care methods orapparatus. Of course, the above objectives are to be read disjunctivelywith the minimum of providing the public with a useful choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided anail careapparatus including:

-   -   hand-or-foot receptacle for receiving a hand or a foot of a        person with nails having been applied with nail caring        substances,    -   nail curing means for curing nail caring substances, already        applied on the nails of said person,    -   a first air-moving means, and    -   a first odour-removing means,        wherein said first air-moving means being adapted for moving air        from said hand-or-foot receptacle to said first odour-removing        means, said first odour-removing means including means for        substantially removing smells, odours or other volatile        substances emanated from said applied nail caring substances.

Preferably, said nail curing means including an ultra-violet radiationsource.

Preferably, said nail curing means including a heater and an air blower.

Preferably, said hand-or-foot receptacle for receiving a hand or a footbeing intermediate of said nail curing means and said first air-movingmeans.

Preferably, said nail care apparatus including a first housing and asecond housing, said nail curing means being accommodated by said firsthousing, said first air-moving means being accommodated by said secondhousing, said first housing and said second housing beinginter-connected by a support housing.

Preferably, said supporting housing including means for adjustingseparation between said foot-or-hand receptacle and said first housing.

Preferably, said nail curing means including a heater and an air blower,said first housing being tiltable relative to said support housing.

Preferably, said first housing being pivotable about said supporthousing, the separation between said first housing and said hand-or-footreceptacle being adjustable by pivotally tilting said first housingabout said support housing, further including latching means to latchsaid first housing at a inclination selectable by a user.

Preferably, said first odour-removing means including a de-odourizingfilter such as an activated carbon filter or the like.

Preferably, said first air-moving means including a propeller fan therotation plane of which being substantially parallel to the absorptionplane of said de-odourizing filter.

Preferably, said apparatus further including a hand-or-foot support,said hand-or-foot support including a perforated surface and a secondair-moving means, said second air-moving means being also adapted formoving air from said perforated surface to a de-odourizing filter alonga second predefined channel.

Preferably, said second air-moving means being adapted to move air fromsaid hand-or-foot receptacle to said odour-removing means via a firstpre-defined channel, said first and second pre-defined channels beingconfigured for alternative operation.

Preferably, said first and second pre-defined channels beingcommunicable via a valve.

Preferably, said apparatus further including sensing means and valvecontrol means, said sensing means being adapted to detect the presenceof a hand or a foot at said hand-or-foot receptacle or said hand-or-footsupport and generates corresponding control signal, said valve controlmeans activate one of said alternate pre-defined channels upon detectionof said control signals.

Preferably, said apparatus including switching means to switch operationof said apparatus alternating between said first and said secondpre-defined channels.

Preferably, said first and said second air-moving means being a singleair-moving device.

Preferably, said apparatus further including a hand-or-foot support, asecond air-moving means, a second odour-removing means, saidhand-or-foot support being adapted for supporting a hand or a foot of aperson to facilitate application of nail care substances, said secondair-moving means being adapted for moving air from said hand-or-footsupport to said second odour-removing means so that when nail caresubstances are being applied onto the hand or the foot of a person withsaid hand or said foot resting on said hand-or-foot support, smell,odour or other volatile substances emanating from said nail caresubstances will be drawn towards said second odour-removing means forremoval.

Preferably, said apparatus further including a first housing, a secondhousing and a support housing interconnecting said first and saidhousing, wherein said hand-or-foot support and said hand-or-footreceptacle respectively formed on said first and said second housing,said hand-or-foot support being on a surface of said first housingdistal from said hand-or-foot receptacle.

Preferably, said hand-or-foot support includes an ergonomically shapedsurface for receiving the palm or the plantar surface of the foot of auser during application of nail care substances.

Preferably, said first housing being generally hollow and saidhand-or-foot support including a percolated surface, said secondair-moving means being disposed so that, when said apparatus operatingas a de-odourizing means during application of nail care substances, airin the vicinity of said hand-or-foot support will be drawn into a hollowcompartment inside said first housing, a de-odourizing means beingdisposed in said hollow compartment for removing smell, odour or othervolatile substances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained infurther detail below by way of examples and with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially exposed perspective view of a nail caringapparatus showing a first preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 1 a is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of the first preferred embodimentof the nail caring apparatus of FIG. 1 with the section line taken alongthe centre (A-A) of the apparatus and viewed from one side,

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-section of the apparatus of FIG. 2 withthe support housing extended to elevate the first housing,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 with the first housing tiltedrelative to the support housing,

FIG. 5 shows the front view of a second preferred embodiment of a nailcare apparatus of the present invention,

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 5 along thesection line A-A,

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 6 along thesection line A-A with the first housing elevated from the base support,

FIG. 8 is the cross-sectional view of FIG. 7 with arrows schematicallyshowing air movements during operation,

FIG. 9 shows a longitudinal cross-section of a third preferredembodiment of a nail caring apparatus of the present invention,

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG.9 with the first housing elevated and with arrows showing generaldirection of air-flow when operating as means for drying nails when thenails are placed on the hand- and-foot receptacle,

FIG. 11 is the longitudinal cross-section of FIG. 10 but showing generaldirections of air-flow when the apparatus is operating as means forremoving volatile substances when a hand or foot is placed on the tophousing,

FIG. 12 shows the front view of a fourth preferred embodiment of thepresent invention,

FIG. 13 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the apparatus ofFIG. 12 with arrows showing direction of air movements during operation,

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 12 with thefirst housing elevated,

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG.13 with the first housing tilted relative to the support housing,

FIG. 16 shows the bottom view of the apparatus of FIG. 12,

FIG. 17 is a front view showing a fifth preferred embodiment of a nailcare apparatus of the present invention,

FIG. 18 is a longitudinal cross-section along the section line A-A ofFIG. 17,

FIG. 19 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG.17 taken along the line A-A with the support housing extended so thatthe first housing is elevated,

FIG. 20 is the longitudinal view of FIG. 18 with the first housingtilted upwards relative to the support housing,

FIG. 21 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a nail careapparatus of a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention andwith arrows showing the general direction of air movement, and

FIG. 22 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 21 with thesupport housing extended.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring firstly to FIGS. 1 to 4, the nail care apparatus 100 includesa first housing 110, a second housing 120 and a support housing 130interconnecting the first housing 110 and the second housing 120. Thefirst housing 110 is generally made of a heat resistance and insulatingmaterial such as hard plastics and includes a hollow compartment 111.Nail curing means such as a conventional heater assembly 112, anultra-violet radiation means 113 or other appropriate curing means,whether in combination or as alternatives, are accommodated in thehollow compartment 111 of the first housing 110. A rotary blowerassembly 114 is also mounted inside the first housing 110 to supply hotair to speed up drying of the nail care substances.

The first housing 110 includes a top portion 115 and a bottom portion116 between which the hollow compartment is formed. The bottom portion116 of the first housing 110 includes a transparent window 117 forpassage of the ultra-violet radiation generated by the ultra-violetsource 113 and an air-window 118 for transmitting the heat or hot airgenerated by the heater assembly 112 towards the hand-or-foot receptacle121 on the second housing 120.

The second housing 120 generally defines the base of the apparatus 100and provides support to the entire apparatus 100. In this preferredembodiment, the second housing 120 is also made of a heat resistantmaterial such as hard plastics and includes a hollow compartment insidewhich there is mounted a propeller fan 122. A volatile nail caringsubstances removal means 123, which can be, for example, absorptionmeans, adsorption means or other appropriate means such as ade-odourizing means, a de-odourizing filter or other appropriate devicesor arrangements suitable for removing smell, odour or volatilesubstances is disposed adjacent to the propeller fan 122. The volatilenail caring substances removing means is placed downstream to thepropeller fan in this example. Of course, this volatile nail caringsubstances removal means can be placed upstream, downstream or bothupstream and downstream of the propeller fan 122. The top portion 124 ofthe second housing 120 (or the base) which is facing or opposite thefirst housing 110 includes a perforated surface so that air in the spacebetween the first 110 and the second housing 120 can enter the secondhousing 120 through the perforations and by the suction caused by thepropeller fan 122.

The support housing 130 interconnects the first housing 110 and thesecond housing 120 so that the first housing 110 is elevated above thesecond housing 120. The space between the first housing 110 and thesecond housing 120 is for receiving the hand or the foot of a user to beexplained below. The support housing 130 also includes an extensionmeans so that the distance of separation between the first housing 110and the second housing 120 can be adjusted and maintained. The extensionmeans includes a telescopic-type structure with an internal helicalspring 131 to provide spring bias so that when the catching mechanism isreleased while the extension means is under spring urge, the extensionmeans will extend the support housing 13 upwards, thereby increasing theseparation between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120.

A switching actuator 141 is mounted on the first housing 110 foractuating and de-actuating the nail curing means (including the heaterassembly 112, the ultra-violet radiation source 113 and the blower 114).The switching actuator 141 includes a shaft which spans transverselyacross the support housing 130 and is controllable by a switching lever142. The switching lever 142 includes a plurality of salient orprotruding actuation contacts which are positioned and adapted formechanically coupling with the switching actuator 141 at variouspositions of the support housing 130, including the unextended andvarious pre-determined extended positions of the support housing.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be noted that the first housing 110 ispivotally movable relative to the support housing 130 about a pivotaljoint 132. The pivotal joint 132 also includes a latching mechanism tolatch or hold the first housing 110 at a plurality of pre-determinedinclination angles.

Turning to an exemplary use of this apparatus. After application of nailcaring substances onto a user's nails has been completed, the firsthousing 110 can be tilted upwards to provide more space so that a usercan place his hand or foot onto the hand-or-foot receptacle 121 whilealleviating the risk of the newly treated or painted nails from beingscratched by the first housing 110. Alternatively, a user can also applynail caring substances with his hand or foot placed on the hand-or-footreceptacle 121 while the first housing 110 is tilted upwards to save thetrouble of having to move the hand or foot from where the nail curingsubstances were applied to the hand-or-foot receptacle 121. Of course,the hand-or-foot receptacle 121 may also include an ergonomically shapedsurface for receiving the palm or the plantar surface of the foot forenhanced comfort.

When a hand or foot having been applied with nail caring substances isplaced on the hand-or-foot receptacle 121, the first housing 110 isrestored to the configuration of FIGS. 2 or 3, depending on the size ofthe hand or foot. Next, the nail curing means will be activated so thatthe treated nails will be subject to the appropriate curing treatmentssuch as heating, ultra-violet irradiation or a combination of both. Theblower 114 may also be activated to increase the drying speed whereappropriate. When the curing process is taking place, the propeller fan122 will operate as a first air-moving means to draw air in the vicinityof the nails towards the de-odouring filters to reduce or alleviate thesmell, odour or the volatile substances which may be hazardous tohealth.

In a slightly modified version of this first preferred embodiment, thefirst housing 110 includes a perforated top surface 119. This perforatedsurface 119 is disposed at the top of the first housing 110 and isdistal or distant from the second housing 120. This perforated surface119 provides a path for air above it to move into the hollow compartment111 for subsequent removal of the residual nail caring substances byabsorption means disposed in the second housing described below. Inaddition, this perforated surface 115 is adapted for receiving the palmof a user and is ergonomically shaped for this purpose.

Turning now to an exemplary use of this slightly modified version of thefirst preferred embodiment, the top perforated surface 115 of the firsthousing is optimally designed to receive the palm of a user tofacilitate comfortable and convenient application of nail caringsubstances such as, for example, nail coating or polishes, nail varnishor nail gels. The perforated surface 115 is ergonomically designed andcurved for enhanced comfort while the nails are being attended to. Toalleviate problems with smell or odour emanating from the volatile nailcaring substances, the nail, the air blower 114 and the propeller 122will be actuated during application of the volatile nail caringsubstances to draw air in the vicinity of the perforated surface 115towards the filter 123, thereby removing smell, odour or the residualvolatile nail caring substances.

Hence, in the present example of the slightly modified version, theapparatus includes first air-moving means comprising the propeller fan122 for moving air from the hand-and-foot receptacle to thede-odourizing means arid second air-moving means comprising the airblower 114 for moving scented air in the vicinity of the top perforatedsurface 115 towards the deodorizing means.

In the following, numeral reference to the figures has the followingconvention where appropriate and unless otherwise stated. The firstdigit refers to the embodiment number and the last two digits refer tothe parts as designated by the second and third digits of the numeralsused in the first preferred embodiment even if the numerals are notfurther described or repeated in the specification for brevity.

Referring to FIGS. 5 to 8, there is shown a second preferred embodimentof a nail care apparatus of the present invention. The apparatus 200includes a first housing 210, a second housing 220 and a support housing230 interconnecting the first housing and the second housing. Similar tothe first preferred embodiment, nail curing means such as a conventionalheater assembly 212, an ultra-violet radiation means 213 or otherappropriate curing means, whether in combination or as alternatives, aremounted in the hollow compartment 211 of the first housing 210.Similarly, a rotary blower assembly 214 is also mounted inside thehollow compartment 211. Unlike the first preferred embodiment, therotary blower assembly is functioning both as the first air-moving meansfor moving air from the hand-and-foot receptacle and the secondair-moving means for moving scented air in the vicinity of the topperforated surface 215 of the first housing 210 towards thede-odourizing means. The dual functionality of this rotary blower ismade possible by configuring the hollow compartment into two alternativeair-channels or air-passage ways and through the control of a two-wayvalve 250.

Unlike the first preferred embodiment, while the second housing 220functions as the supporting base of the apparatus 200, it does notprovide a perforated surface or a passageway for air to move from thehand-and-foot receptacle 221 towards the deodurizing means 253. Instead,a perforated surface, which is in communication with an air channelformed inside the first housing 210, and the support housing 230 isformed on the surface of the support housing adjacent the hand-and-footreceptacle 221. By controlling the two-way valve 251, two alternativeair-passage paths, namely, the first air-passage path and the secondair-passage path, are formed.

The first air-passage path defines generally the direction of air-flowwhile the apparatus is configured as means for removing volatile nailcaring substances when the nails are being treated and with the palmresting on the top perforated surface 219. During this operation mode,the two-way valve 251 is moved anti-clockwisely until the secondair-passage path is closed. In this operating mode, the rotary bloweroperates as the second air-moving means and the low-pressure regiongenerated by the air-blower will cause air in the vicinity of the topperforated surface 219 to move towards the hollow compartment 211through the de-odourizing filter 253 and exhaust through the air-window218. Alternatively, and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, when the apparatus200 operates as a nail curing apparatus, the two-way valve 251 will bemoved clockwisely until the first air-passage path, which is connectedto the first filtering means or first de-odorising means 253, is closed.During this operating mode, the air blower 214 functions as the firstair-moving means and the second air-passage path defines the directionof air-flow while the apparatus is operating for drying the treatednails. This first air-moving means causes hot air to move towards thehand-and-foot receptacle 221 and the suction generated will cause theair in the vicinity of the hand-and-foot receptacle 221 to move towardsthe support housing 230 through the perforated surface 233 and return tothe hollow compartment 211 through a second filtering means or a secondde-odourizing filter 252.

Referring to FIGS. 9 to 11, there is shown a third preferred embodimentof a nail care apparatus 300 of the present invention. The apparatus 300is generally identical to the apparatus 200 of the second preferredembodiment except that the hollow compartment and the air channels areconfigured so that a common volatile nail caring substances removalmeans, for example, a de-odorising filter 354, is installed along acommon path shared by the first and the second alternative air-passagepaths through the control of the two-way valve 351. More specifically, abuffering compartment 355 is formed inside the hollow compartment 311.The buffering compartment 355 includes first 356 and second 357alternative inlets which are respectively connected to the first and thesecond air-passage channels and at the upstream ends of the bufferingcompartment 355. The common de-odourizing filter 354 is disposed at theoutlet or the downstream end of the buffering compartment. Byselectively switching the opening or closing of the two-way valve 351,the de-odourizing filter 354 will function as a de-odourizing filter forthe respective air-passage channels, thereby simplifying the structureof the apparatus as well as reducing the number of individualde-odourizing filters required.

Referring to FIG. 10, the apparatus 300 is configured for functioning asa nail care apparatus for drying or curing nail care substances alreadytreated on nails. Under this operation mode, the rotary air blower 314,the heater assembly 312 and the U-V radiation source 313 will operate inthe manner as described above. The hot or warm air originating from therotary air blower will be delivered towards the hand-and-footreceptacle. As a result of the low-pressure region generated in thevicinity of the rotary air blower and as a result of the switching ofthe two-way valve to close the inlet which is communicable with the topperforated surface, the air in the region of the hand-and-footreceptacle will enter the hollow portion of the support housing throughthe perforated surface, passing through the common de-odourizing meansand return towards the rotary air blower.

On the other hand, when the nail care apparatus 300 is operated as meansfor removing odour during application of the volatile nail caringsubstances onto nails as shown in FIG. 11, the two-way valve 351 isselectively switched to close the communication between the bufferingcompartment and the second air-passage path. Under this operation mode,the rotary air blower will operate to suck air from the vicinity of thetop perforated surface, via the common de-odourizing means and thenrelease through the air-window.

Referring to FIGS. 12-16, there is shown a fourth preferred embodimentof a nail care apparatus 400 of the present invention. The apparatus 400is generally the same as the nail care apparatus 100 of the firstpreferred embodiment and including a first housing, a second housing asupport housing.

The first housing 410 includes a hollow compartment 411 inside whichthere are mounted a rotary air blower 414, a heater assembly 412 and anultra-violet radiation source 413. An air-window 418 and a transparentwindow 417 are respectively provided for passage of hot air emanatingfrom the heater assembly and for passage of the curing radiationemanating from the ultra-violet or other appropriate curing sources.

The second housing 420 includes a first air-moving means and comprises apropeller fan 432 for moving air from the hand-and-foot receptacle 421to a de-odourizing means disposed downstream of the propeller fan 422.

The support housing 430 includes a hollow chamber 434 and an extensionmeans for extending the support housing so as to change the elevation ofthe first housing above the second housing. Unlike the first preferredembodiment, a perforated surface 433 is formed on the surface of thesupport housing opposite the hand-and-foot receptacle to allow passageof air in the vicinity of the hand-and-foot receptacle into the supporthousing. The air channel formed inside the hollow compartment of thesupport housing provides a path for air streams originating from thehand-and-foot receptacle to move towards the upstream end of thepropeller fan for further transmission towards the filtering orde-odourizing means and then for subsequent release from the apparatus.

In this preferred embodiment, the top surface 424 of the second housing420 is non-perforated so that motion of the propeller fan will generatea low-pressure region within the second housing to provide adequatesuction to attract air in the vicinity of the perforated surface of thesupport housing. Similar to other preferred embodiments, the firsthousing can also be tilted relative to the support housing and can belatched at several pre-determined positions for more convenient placingof a hand or foot onto the hand-and-foot receptacle.

FIGS. 17 to 20 show a fifth preferred embodiment of a nail careapparatus 500 of the present invention. The apparatus includes a firsthousing 510, a second housing 520 and a support housing 530. The firsthousing 510 is substantially identical to that of the first preferredembodiment. The second housing 520 is substantial identical to that ofthe second housing. The support housing 530 is generally the same asthat of the fourth preferred embodiment except that the de-odourizingmeans 554 and the air-moving means 556 are both disposed within thesupport housing 530 and are configured to suck and filter the air in thevicinity of the hand-and-foot receptacle through the perforated surfaceand then to release the filtered air at the back of the support housing.

Referring to FIGS. 21 and 22, there is shown a sixth preferredembodiment of a nail care apparatus 600 of the present invention. Thisapparatus 600 is substantially the same as the apparatus of the thirdembodiment except that the apparatus is configured as means for removingodour emanating from volatile nail caring substances when the nails arebeing treated on the top perforated surface of the first housing. Afilter is disposed adjacent and downstream to the top perforatedsurface. By actuating the rotary air blower, air in the vicinity of thetop perforated surface will be sucked into the hollow compartment of thefirst housing, passing through the de-odourizing means, which isinserted intermediate of the top perforated surface and the rotary airblower, and subsequently released through the air-window. Due to thede-odourizing means the odour emanating from the treated or polishednails will be sucked into the hollow compartment and will besubstantially removed.

While the present invention has been explained by reference to thepreferred embodiments described above, it will be appreciated that theembodiments are illustrated as examples to assist understanding of thepresent invention and are not meant to be restrictive on the scope andspirit of the present invention. The scope of this invention should bedetermined from the general principles and spirit of the invention asdescribed above. In particular, variations or modifications which areobvious or trivial to persons skilled in the art, as well asimprovements made on the basis of the present invention, should beconsidered as falling within the scope and boundary of the presentinvention.

Furthermore, while the present invention has been explained by referenceto a nail care apparatus, it should be appreciated that the inventioncan apply, whether with or without modification, to other personal careapparatus without loss of generality. More specifically, as can be seenfrom the various preferred embodiments above that, the various parts,configuration and structures of the preferred embodiments can beselectively combined or used alternatively without loss of generality.

NUMBER LIST

100 apparatus 110 first housing 111 hollow compartment 112 heaterassembly 113 U—V radiation source 114 rotary air-blower 115 top portionof the first housing 116 bottom portion of the first housing 117transparent window 118 air-passage window 119 top perforated surface 120second housing (base) 121 hand-or-foot receptacle 122 propeller fan 123nail caring substances removal means 124 top portion of second housing130 support housing 131 helical spring 132 pivotal joint 141 switchactuator 142 switching lever 200 apparatus 210 first housing 211 hollowcompartment 212 heater assembly 213 U—V radiation source 214 rotaryair-blower 215 top portion of the first housing 216 bottom portion ofthe first housing 217 transparent window 218 air-passage window 219 topperforated surface 220 second housing (base) 221 hand-or-foot receptacle222 propeller fan 223 nail caring substances removal means 224 topportion of second housing 230 support housing 231 helical spring 232pivotal joint 233 side perforated surface 241 switch actuator 242switching lever 251 two-way valve 252 first filter 253 second filter 300apparatus 310 first housing 311 hollow compartment 312 heater assembly313 U—V radiation source 314 rotary air-blower 315 top portion of thefirst housing 316 bottom portion of the first housing 317 transparentwindow 318 air-passage window 319 top perforated surface 320 secondhousing (base) 321 hand-or-foot receptacle 322 propeller fan 323 nailcaring substances removal means 324 top portion of second housing 330support housing 331 helical spring 332 pivotal joint 333 side perforatedsurface 341 switch actuator 342 switching lever 351 two-way valve 352first filter 353 second filter 354 filter 355 buffering compartment 356first inlet 357 second inlet 400 apparatus 410 first housing 411 hollowcompartment 412 heater assembly 413 ultra-violet radiation source 414rotary air blower 417 transparent window 418 air-window 420 secondhousing 421 hand-and-foot receptacle 422 propeller fan 424 top surfaceof second housing 430 support housing 433 perforated surface 434 hollowcompartment of support housing 500 apparatus 510 first housing 520second housing 530 support housing 533 perforated surface 534 hollowcompartment of support housing 554 filter 556 air-moving means

1. A nail care apparatus including: hand-or-foot receptacle forreceiving a hand or a foot of a person with nails having been appliedwith nail caring substances, nail curing means for curing nail caringsubstances, already applied on the nails of said person, a firstair-moving means, and a first odour-removing means, wherein said firstair-moving means being adapted for moving air from said hand-or-footreceptacle to said first odour-removing means, said first odour-removingmeans including means for substantially removing smells, odours or othervolatile substances emanated from said applied nail caring substances.2. A nail care apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said nail curingmeans including an ultra-violet radiation source.
 3. A nail careapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said nail curing means includinga heater and an air blower.
 4. A nail care apparatus according to claim1, wherein said hand-or-foot receptacle for receiving a hand or a footbeing intermediate of said nail curing means and said first air-movingmeans.
 5. A nail care apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said nailcare apparatus including a first housing and a second housing, said nailcuring means being accommodated by said first housing, said firstair-moving means being accommodated by said second housing, said firsthousing and said second housing being inter-connected by a supporthousing.
 6. A nail care apparatus according to claim 5, wherein saidsupporting housing including means for adjusting separation between saidfoot-or-hand receptacle and said first housing.
 7. A nail care apparatusaccording to claim 5, wherein said nail curing means including a heaterand an air blower, said first housing being tiltable relative to saidsupport housing.
 8. A nail care apparatus according to claim 5, whereinsaid first housing being pivotable about said support housing, theseparation between said first housing and said hand-or-foot receptaclebeing adjustable by pivotally tilting said first housing about saidsupport housing, further including latching means to latch said firsthousing at a inclination selectable by a user.
 9. A nail care apparatusaccording to claim 5, wherein said first odour-removing means includinga de-odourizing filter such as an activated carbon filter or the like.10. A nail care apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said firstair-moving means including a propeller fan the rotation plane of whichbeing substantially parallel to the absorption plane of saidde-odourizing filter.
 11. A nail care apparatus according to claim 1,further including a hand-or-foot support, said hand-or-foot supportincluding a perforated surface and a second air-moving means, saidsecond air-moving means being also adapted for moving air from saidperforated surface to a de-odourizing filter along a second predefinedchannel.
 12. A nail care apparatus according to claim 11, wherein saidsecond air-moving means being adapted to move air from said hand-or-footreceptacle to said odour-removing means via a first pre-defined channel,said first and second pre-defined channels being configured foralternative operation.
 13. A nail care apparatus according to claim 11,wherein said first and second pre-defined channels being communicablevia a valve.
 14. A nail care apparatus according to claim 13, furtherincluding sensing means and valve control means, said sensing meansbeing adapted to detect the presence of a hand or a foot at saidhand-or-foot receptacle or said hand-or-foot support and generatescorresponding control signal, said valve control means activate one ofsaid alternate pre-defined channels upon detection of said controlsignals.
 15. A nail care apparatus according to claim 13, includingswitching means to switch operation of said apparatus alternatingbetween said first and said second pre-defined channels.
 16. A nail careapparatus according to claim 11, wherein said first and said secondair-moving means being a single air-moving device.
 17. A nail careapparatus according to claim 1, further including a hand-or-footsupport, a second air-moving means, a second odour-removing means, saidhand-or-foot support being adapted for supporting a hand or a foot of aperson to facilitate application of nail care substances, said secondair-moving means being adapted for moving air from said hand-or-footsupport to said second odour-removing means so that when nail caresubstances are being applied onto the hand or the foot of a person withsaid hand or said foot resting on said hand-or-foot support, smell,odour or other volatile substances emanating from said nail caresubstances will be drawn towards said second odour-removing means forremoval.
 18. A nail care apparatus according to claim 17 and including afirst housing, a second housing and a support housing interconnectingsaid first and said housing, wherein said hand-or-foot support and saidhand-or-foot receptacle respectively formed on said first and saidsecond housing, said hand-or-foot support being on a surface of saidfirst housing distal from said hand-or-foot receptacle.
 19. A nail careapparatus according to claim 18, wherein said hand-or-foot supportincludes an ergonomically shaped surface for receiving the palm or theplantar surface of the foot of a user during application of nail caresubstances.
 20. A nail care apparatus according to claim 18, whereinsaid first housing being generally hollow and said hand-or-foot supportincluding a percolated surface, said second air-moving means beingdisposed so that, when said apparatus operating as a de-odourizing meansduring application of nail care substances, air in the vicinity of saidhand-or-foot support will be drawn into a hollow compartment inside saidfirst housing, a de-odourizing means being disposed in said hollowcompartment for removing smell, odour or other volatile substances.